Toms River Boy Dreams of Meeting Nick Jonas: Here’s Why

When this 5-year old gets scared about having to go to the hospital or wear a pump to school, he thinks about his hero, Nick Jonas, who suffers from the same disease, and then little Nico isn't so afraid anymore.

Nico was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1) at the age of 2. This sweet boy hasn't had a solid year where he hasn't spent a week or more in the hospital since diagnosis due to sometimes life-threatening complications.

To a 2-year old, the only thing he understood was 'food makes me feel sick'. So he developed the eating disorder PICA. Which is when someone consumes something with no nutritional value, like paper. At the age of 3, he was hospitalized for this disorder.

Since T1 affects the immune system, when Nico started Pre K he contracted the Flu. It completely depleted his white blood cell count, leaving him with no immune system. They had to put him in isolation.

Nico is now a 5-year-old and his mom, Vanessa, says it's a roller coaster every day.

Little Nico learned about Nick and the Jonas brothers at Camp Nejeda, an NJ camp strictly for Type 1 Diabetics. Vanessa says that Nick Jonas is the epitome of a role model in their home. He and her son, Nico, share the same birth name, too: Nicholas.

Any time precious Nico is nervous telling kids about his diabetes or when they ask in school about his medical devices, (Nico wears an insulin pump that works as an artificial pancreas) Vanessa remind her little boys that there's a pop star out there that also wears his pump, and millions of people love him just for being him.

In Vanessa's words to her son, "You're from the same place, you battle the same disease, you both trust in God. So if Nick Jonas can do it, you can do it".

Vanessa believes that having a role model like Nick Jonas, and sparking the interest in a 5-year-old with the weight of the world on his shoulders, is everything.

With the Jonas Brothers performing this weekend in Newark and then heading down to Atlantic City to perform, wouldn't it be amazing if we could get this story to Nick Jonas and find a way for Nico to meet his hero?

If anyone knows how to make that happen, contact me via email: liz.jeressi@townsquaremedia.com and I will put you in touch with Nico's mom, Vanessa.

Special shout-out to Wolf Flores for bringing this family to our attention.